A least tern chick has been happily reunited with its parents after being separated June 10.
The chick was picked up while wandering the beach near the 27th Street buffer zone in Bradenton Beach by a 14-year-old girl and her family who thought the bird was in distress.
The chick was taken to Wildlife Inc.’s rehabilitation center. A representative from Wildlife Inc. reported the chick to Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring volunteer Glenn Wiseman, who was able to reunite the chick with its family.
“The girl thought she was doing the right thing,” Wiseman said. “People try to intervene with nature when they don’t have to.”
According to Wiseman, the chicks wander up and down the beach, away from the nesting area as they grow. The chicks learn their parents’ voices while still inside the eggshell and respond to it as they venture out of the nesting area. When the chick doesn’t respond, the parents may believe that it is lost or has been taken by predators. Often, after a chick has been out of the nest for a prolonged time, the parents may turn away a chick.
“Luckily, it turned out OK,” Wiseman said. The chick was with Wildlife Inc. for about an hour. Wiseman was able to return the chick to the correct nesting area and the parents welcomed it back.
According to AMITW executive director Suzi Fox, this type of situation hasn’t happened over the more than 30 years the organization has been collecting data. Fox said a situation like this could have resulted in the death of the chick.
Before anyone attempts to handle a chick found on the beach, Fox asks that a call be placed to AMITW to allow bird stewards to assess the situation.
“We’d rather go out 10 to 15 times than have someone kill a chick,” Wiseman said.
“Never pick up a chick,” Fox advised. “Stay and have the moment of watching them.”
Fox advises beachgoers to give wandering chicks a wide berth. “The chicks own the beach,” she joked. As chicks grow and develop their wings, they wander along the beach and between the buffer zone and the surf. Fox said the wandering is instrumental in the development of the chick and its parents usually know exactly where it is.
As shorebird chicks and sea turtles hatch over the next several weeks, Fox asks beachgoers to be aware of the babies. People observing the chicks and turtles are asked to not interfere with them or use flash photography.
To contact AMITW or report a potentially hazardous situation for a shorebird chick or sea turtle hatchling, call Fox at 941-778-5638.